Exemplary embodiments relate to computing networks, and more specifically, to dynamic migration of cloud computing services.
“Cloud computing” has recently emerged with enormous success as a new paradigm for distributed computing. In this model, data centers provide dynamically-allocated resources shared by many applications across different domains. This computing model (i.e. cloud computing) offers significant economic advantages of scale for purchasing, operations, and energy usage since the number of idle machines can be reduced by sharing hardware across multiple applications.
Cloud computing is Internet-based computing, whereby shared resources, software, and information are provided to computers and other devices on demand, like the electricity grid. Cloud computing is a paradigm shift following the shift from mainframe to client-server. Details are abstracted from the users, who no longer have need for expertise in, or control over, the technology infrastructure “in the cloud” that supports them. Cloud computing describes a new supplement, consumption, and delivery model for information technology (IT) services based on the Internet, and it typically involves over-the-Internet provision of dynamically scalable and often virtualized resources. Cloud computing is a byproduct and consequence of the ease-of-access to remote computing sites provided by the Internet. This frequently takes the form of web-based tools or applications that users can access and use through a web browser as if it were a program installed locally on their own computer.
Most cloud computing infrastructures consist of services delivered through common centers and built on servers. Clouds often appear as single points of access for all consumers' computing needs. Cloud services also offer a potential advantage for security and management because administration can be performed promptly, and the cost of professional administrators can be amortized over many machines.